The RCP has responded to the GMC’s The state of medical education and practice in the UK: Workplace experiences report.
The RCP has responded to the GMC’s The state of medical education and practice in the UK: Workplace experiences report which reveals that worsening levels of satisfaction and burnout are leading doctors to reduce their hours to safeguard patient care.
The report also reveals that almost a quarter of doctors (23%) took a leave of absence due to stress in the previous year, up from 17% in 2021.
This comes after the annual UK consultant physician census from the RCP, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG) revealed last month that nearly two in five (39%) UK consultant physicians say they have an excessive workload almost all or most of the time, while almost one in five (18%) ‘almost never’ feel in control of their workload.
In response to the GMC report, senior censor and vice president for education and training, Dr Mumtaz Patel, who is acting as RCP president, said:
“The medical workforce is essential to the NHS. At present, dedicated employees are working in a health service which simply doesn’t work for them. The GMC’s findings are crystal clear and echo the findings of our own recent census. Doctors are overworked and undervalued and it is impacting patient care. As revealed today, doctors are now refusing to take on additional work as their workloads are already overwhelming in many cases. Doctors will not have taken this decision lightly – they are only doing so to protect their ability to deliver for patients. At a time when we urgently need to reduce waiting lists, this situation is unsustainable.
“After the general election, we made it clear that the new UK government must prioritise staff retention alongside recruitment. Survey after survey is proving just how urgently a retention strategy is needed for doctors.
“If we don't improve working conditions soon, we risk losing many of our most talented and dedicated physicians from the NHS. We wholly support the GMC’s recommendations to effectively manage workloads to support struggling doctors and reduce the risk of burnout. Plans to increase medical school places must set out how senior doctors will be supported to supervise and teach a big increase in undergraduate medical students and postgraduate resident doctors. We need to see the detail on this – it’s vital that the NHS works with the profession to develop clear career pathways that will motivate and retain doctors in the health service.
“Alongside training more doctors to alleviate the significant pressure on the system, the government must work to get the basics right for staff. That means enhancements in IT systems, access to affordable childcare and increased flexible working.
“We call for the government to act now to reduce clinical workloads to more manageable levels in order to drive first class care for patients. Our medical workforce needs to be better supported to provide the best care for our patients. We can’t afford to lose more doctors now.”